Jeep Michelle

 A work truck is a business partner that never calls in sick. It starts before sunrise, hauls what you hate lifting, parks in your driveway at night wearing the whole day on its tires. In Volusia County, from New Smyrna Beach to Daytona Beach to DeLand, a lot of those partners wear a Ram badge. Here's how to think about picking one. Pick the body before you pick the truck A Ram Chassis Cab comes as a cab on a bare frame. The business end, the part behind you, gets built to match the work. That's the whole point. Dump body. Landscapers, site crews, anybody hauling fill, shell rock or storm debris. Tip it, dump it, go home dirty. Flatbed. Pallets, pipe, lumber, equipment that doesn't fit in a pickup bed. Load from three sides. Service body. Plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs. A compartment for every tool, locked, dry, right where your hand expects it at 7 a.m. Crew cab or regular cab? Count heads. A Ram Crew Cab carries the whole crew to the job in one truck instead ...

Every week somebody asks me the same ten things. Here they are, short answers first. 1. Where can I buy a Jeep near New Smyrna Beach or Daytona? New Smyrna Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, 2555 State Road 44. It's the closest authorized Jeep dealer to New Smyrna Beach, about 25 minutes from Daytona. Wherever you shop, ask for the out-the-door price in writing. 2. Who is Jeep Michelle? Me. I sell Jeeps and Ram work trucks at New Smyrna Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram. I grew up 4-wheeling and mudding. I know the beach ramps by heart. 3. Can I drive on New Smyrna Beach? Yes, in marked zones, tides permitting. May through October: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. or sundown. November through April: sunrise to sunset. Never at night. Volusia residents register free; visitors pay $30 a day or $150 a year. 10 mph. My full beach driving guide 4. Wrangler or Gladiator for Florida? Wrangler if the beach is the point. Gladiator if a boat or a bed of mulch is. The Gladiator tows up to 7,700 lbs properly equipped; a 4-door ...

 You walk out of the grocery store. The bags are sweating. There's a little yellow rubber duck sitting on your door handle, smiling at you like it knows something. It does. You've been ducked. Welcome to the club. Nobody asks for your credit score. What is Jeep ducking? Jeep ducking is simple. A Jeep owner spots another Jeep, leaves a rubber duck on it, walks away. Sometimes there's a note. "Nice Jeep." "Love the color." "You've been ducked." That's it. No catch. No sales pitch. A random act of kindness shaped like bath time. Some people call it Duck Duck Jeep. The hashtag is #DuckDuckJeep. The ducks end up lined across the dashboard of a Jeep Wrangler or Jeep Gladiator like a tiny rubber jury. How Jeep ducking started In July 2020, a Canadian woman named Allison Parliament was home in Ontario, near a town called Bancroft. The world was in lockdown, everybody was on edge, she'd just had a rough encounter with a stranger. Then...

Around here, people ask me one question more than any other: Wrangler or Gladiator? They share the same DNA. Both have removable doors, a top that comes off, and real 4x4. The difference comes down to how you spend your weekends. Pick the Gladiator if… You haul stuff. The 5-foot steel bed swallows coolers, sandy chairs, fishing gear and wet surfboards, and none of it gets into the cabin. You tow. The Gladiator is rated up to 7,700 lbs when properly equipped (per jeep.com ), enough for most boats and campers you'd see at the ramp. You want a truck that still does the Jeep wave. Up to 1,720 lbs of payload, and you still get the open-air feel. Pick the Wrangler if… You want the classic Jeep. It's shorter, turns tighter, and is easier to park at a crowded beach access or downtown on Flagler Avenue. You carry people more than gear. The 4-door fits five, with cargo space behind the back seat for a beach bag setup. You tow light. The Wrangler 4-door is rated up to 5,000 lbs on p...

Few places in the country let you drive right onto the sand, and Volusia County is one of them. If you just brought home a Jeep, or you're visiting with one, here's what to know before you hit the ramp. When you can drive From May 1 to October 31, the beach is open to vehicles from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (or sundown, whichever comes first). From November 1 to April 30, it's sunrise to sunset. Either way it's "tides permitting." At high tide, ramps close when there isn't enough dry sand, so check the Volusia Beaches app before you go. Can you drive on the beach today? Right now: check the Volusia Beaches app before you head out. It shows live open or closed status for every ramp. Ramps close for high tide, bad weather and special events. At high tide: usually not. When the water gets close to the dunes, the county closes the driving ramps until the tide drops. Plan your beach drive around low tide. Any tide chart for New Smyrna or Daytona will show the times...

Pull the doors, drop the top and give yourself a Saturday. Volusia County has thousands of years of history packed into a 40-mile stretch of coast, and a Jeep is the best way to see it. This loop starts in New Smyrna Beach and ends in Daytona Beach, with plenty of sand, shade and stories along the way. I'm a Volusia history buff and a Halifax Historical Society volunteer, and these are the five stops I send everyone to first. 1. Turtle Mound, Canaveral National Seashore Start south of New Smyrna Beach on A1A. Turtle Mound is a Timucuan shell mound built from oyster shells over centuries, one of the largest on Florida's Atlantic coast. A short boardwalk takes you to the top, where you can see the ocean on one side and Mosquito Lagoon on the other. (The national seashore charges an entrance fee.) 2. Old Fort Park (the Turnbull Ruins), New Smyrna Beach Head back into town to Riverside Drive. A huge coquina foundation sits on a bluff over the Indian River. It's often tie...